Snowed In
by Starbuck
Summary: (I wrote this in sixth grade...be nice.) The road to Scully's family gathering gets blocked and she is forced to spend Christmas Eve with Mulder...


"So where ya goin this year, Scully? Same ole same ole I guess?" Fox Mulder leaned back in his chair and placed his feet firmly upon the desk, knocking quite a number of papers onto the floor in the process.  
  
"Yup, that's about right. I leave in-" the woman tossed her red hair as she glanced down at her gold watch, "one hour and forty seven minutes." She sighed and proceeded to kneel and retrieve the papers her lackadaisical partner failed to notice had fallen on the floor.  
  
"Its pretty cold in here, Mulder. Did you even bother to file a complaint about the heating?" A guilty look appeared upon her partner's face. "Didn't think so. I'm going to get more coffee. Want some?"  
  
"Sure. Decaf with-"  
  
"Two sugars and a half and half, I know." She placed the papers on his desk and walked briskly from the sub-zero office in the basement of the FBI Headquarters, past the rows of filing cabinets and to the elevator. She smiled at the other people in the car with her.  
  
//Check out the blonde// She thought to herself as she smiled at a taller agent next to her.  
  
He smiled back.  
  
She left the elevator on the third floor, also referred to as the Filling Station. A feeling of merriness and holiday spirit filled the air here. She noticed the holiday lights and banners hung upon the walls and the jovial expression of everyone on the floor. Mulder hadn't even bothered to set up a wreath in their office.  
  
//Figures.//  
  
Scully walked briskly over to the coffee table, trying not to bump into the agents drunk with eggnog lining the halls.   
"Excuse me, sorry, whoops didn't mean to," She said as she weaved her way in and out of her co-workers. Finally arriving at the coffee table, she poured herself and Mulder two cups of steaming coffee and administered the right amount of ingredients to each. As she turned to leave, someone called her name.  
  
"Dana! Merry Christmas! Come on over here!" her friend Anne, Skinner's secretary, cried to her from a crowd of people on the other side of the room. Dana accepted the invitation and joined her, being careful not to spill the coffee.  
  
"So where's Spooky? I thought you two went everywhere together," she said, implying the remark as a joke. Dana turned red. First of all, that was unfortunatly true. The pair were like white on rice. And she hated it when people called him Spooky.  
  
"He's down at the South Pole, also known as our office. The heater's been broken for three weeks and the temp is at least 50 below freezing. You seem to be having fun up here." She glanced around at the party on the third floor, taking in the sights of laughing agents, getting drunk and exchanging gifts.  
  
"Actually, we are. Come on, stay a while. Freak will be fine by himself for the next-" she glanced at her watch "one hour and forty minutes until we can leave this hell hole."  
  
//Okay, Spooky was bad, but Freak is worse. I can't leave him there all alone.//  
  
"Hey, thanks anyway, but I've got a few things to file before I can find time to...relax. I'll talk to you later, okay Anne?" She smiled and left.  
  
"God what a loser," Anne muttered under her breath as Scully left the crowded floor.  
  
//I heard that.//  
  
~**~  
Scully pretended not to notice the porn pictures flash away from Mulder's laptop screen as she entered the office with their coffee. She didn't feel like getting on his case at the moment.  
  
"Ahh, thanks Scull." Mulder shivered as he took the steaming coffee from her hand and brought it up to his lips.   
  
"Perfect."  
  
His partner took a seat in the chair vertical to his desk and sipped at her coffee.  
  
"Hey, Scully, you didn't get me anything for Christmas did you? I mean I was just wondering because..."  
  
"Nope, was I supposed to?" She lied, failing to tell him about the small present she had bought while shopping the previous weekend in Richmond.  
  
"Okay, good. I didn't get you one either."  
  
//What is his problem? Does he not know me well enough to tell when I'm lying?//  
  
She flipped on the television to check the weather. The radar screen showed snow brewing up around Annapolis.  
  
//Dammit!// She thought. //I hate driving in the snow.//  
  
"Ha-ha! You're going to have to drive in the snow!" Her evil partner chuckled as he noticed what she was scowling   
at on the screen. "Hope the roads don't get blocked."  
  
//God, he knew her too well.//  
  
She got up and grabbed her coat and purse from the desk. "I'm going to have to go ask Skinner for a leave right now. Merry Christmas, Spooky." With that, she turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.  
~**~  
"What's the problem, Officer?" Dana Scully asked the man in blue standing outside her window. Cars were lined up by the hundreds in front of and behind her, and a light snow was beginning to descend upon the highway.   
  
"It seems that there's some kind of storm up ahead. It's blocked the road from here to Exit 47. We're going to have to create a detour." He flashed her a toothy smile that was missing an incisor or two. She sighed and thanked him, rolling up the window of her car and considering the possibilities. A detour would take hours to have an affect on this traffic, and then she would never be able to get past the snow up to Annapolis. Besides walking, there seemed to be no other alternative than to turn around and head home.  
  
//Boy, is Mulder going to laugh.//  
  
~**~  
  
Scully parked her car and sprinted through the freezing rain up to her apartment. She climbed the stairs up to the third floor and passed numbers 31, 32, 33, and 34 until she reached her own. She reached into her purse to retrieve her keys.  
  
//They've got to be in here somewhere.// She thought as she dug deeper and deeper into her handbag.  
  
They were gone.  
  
Scully dashed back out to her car and pressed her face up to the window. She could see her keys nestled safely in the front seat, just barely out of reach.  
  
//Dammit!// She rushed back into the shelter of the apartment building and slowly reached again into her purse. This time, she carried her cell phone. She breathed deeply and pushed "MEMORY ONE". Mulder's number flashed up on her screen. This was going to be hard.  
  
~**~  
  
Fox Mulder flipped off his television and answered the ring of his cell phone. "Mulder, its me."  
  
"Well who else would bother to call me on Christmas Eve. What's wrong?"  
  
"The road was blocked and now I'm stuck at my apartment building with my keys locked in my car and nowhere to go."  
  
"Sure, I'll be there in twenty minutes." He hung up and grabbed his coat from its rack on the wall.  
  
She was never going to live this down.  
  
~**~  
  
Mulder pulled up in his Tauras to greet a wet and cold Scully standing on the curb of the street.   
  
"Wanna ride, sweetie?"  
  
"Mom said I should never talk to strangers."  
  
"Screw your mom and hop in." She scowled at him and pulled her dripping self into the warmth of his car. He pulled away from the curb and made a U-turn to head back to Alexandria. "Car trouble, eh?"  
  
"You could say that. Thanks for helping me out." He glanced over at her and noticed her still shivering. Mulder turned up the heat on full, ignoring the sweat developing all over himself.   
  
"I got an extra couch. You can stay the night." She smiled in thanks but didn't speak the rest of the drive home.  
  
~**~  
  
"Hey Scully, need any help in there?" Mulder yelled through the door of the bathroom where his partner was taking a bubble bath.  
  
"In your dreams, Mulder." Came the haughty reply from within.  
  
"More than you'll ever know, Scully." He shot back.  
  
"Pervert," she said.  
  
Mulder chuckled and continued to stir the macaroni he was preparing. He set it down upon the counter and searched the fridge for anything that wasn't expired. Aha! Some pickles! Perfect!   
He continued to prepare the holiday feast for himself and Scully, all the while listening to her peristant singing emerging from within the tub.  
  
"DECK THE HALLS WITH BOWS OF HOLLY, FA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA!"  
  
"Ouch!" he said. "SCULLY!" he then yelled. "ITS BOUGHS, NOT BOWS! GET IT RIGHT!"  
  
"OH, OK!" she called back. "GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN..."  
  
~**~  
"Dinner is served," Mulder called to his partner, who was dressed in one of his oversized nightshirts and a pair of running shorts. She flipped off the television and walked into the room. Laid out on the table before her was quite a masterpiece, in terms of Mulder that is. There was the main course of macaroni and cheese from the box, with sliced pickles, yogurt, scrambled eggs, and grilled cheese on the sides.   
  
"Why thank you Mulder. That was...sweet... of you. I'll love it, I'm sure." She picked up her Christmas feast and sat back down in front of the warm glow of the TV. Her partner followed with his own plate and sat down beside her. The two watched "The Simpson's Christmas Special" in silence until Scully finished and Mulder rushed to prepare her dessert of Ritz Crackers with peanut butter and sprinkles.  
  
Scully couldn't help but smile at Mulder's attempts to make up for her lack of family on Christmas Eve. She had already called her family and informed them about the road block. Bill Junior was furious that she was going to have to spend Christmas Eve with "that bastard" and almost drove down to get her himself. But ultimately, Scully was glad that Mulder wouldn't have to be alone this Christmas, like the countless ones before.  
  
She glanced over at him and observed the smile upon his face. Was this his first Christmas not alone since the death of his close family? Was every one of them from now on going to be like this one was supposed to be? Alone? Just like every other day of the year?  
  
Scully edged closer and closer to him, eventually resting her head on his shoulder. He placed his arm around her neck and pulled her close, sharing his warmth with her. Then, he kissed her hair and whispered, "I'm glad you're here, Scully. I didn't want to spend another Christmas alone."   
  
She smiled and nestled deeper into his touch. Letting herself relax and closing her eyes as her best friend held her close to him. Mulder turned off the television and and rested his own head upon hers, closing his eyes as well.   
The couple watched as the clock struck midnight.  
  
Scully drew her head away from his hold and looked deep into her partner's eyes. He was smiling. For the first time in way too long, he was smiling. Was she the only one that made him smile?  
  
Without thinking, Scully moved herself closer and closer to him until their lips met. Though it lasted only for a moment, she felt the magic. They both felt it. And as she drew away from his open mouth, she lingered for a moment before his face, long enough to whisper,  
  
"Merry Christmas, Mulder."  
  
And then she nestled back into his arms and slowly drifted to sleep.  
  



End file.
